Pol Maj-General Romsit Viriyasan, acting secretary-general for AMLO, said scammers randomly called people at home with claims that they were investigating suspicious activities of the victims and threatened to suspend their bank accounts.

“Most of their victims are elderly people living alone,” he said.

According to Romsit, the scammers have usually lured their prey into withdrawing money from all their bank accounts – and then putting the cash into one new account with an ATM.

The password for the ATM is dictated by the scammers.

“Most victims are unaware that they have been deceived until their money is withdrawn within the next few hours,” Romsit said.

He explained that the scammers were using more complicated procedures lately, transferring money to at least two more accounts before finally withdrawing all the cash via ATMs in Malaysia and Taiwan.

He advised elderly people living alone to hang up if any caller told them he was a senior police officer or a senior official.

“After doing that, alert your grown-up children or local police,” he said.

Romsit also urged bank officials to help watch out for their customers.

“Before opening a new account, [banks should] ask applicants if they have been told by any official to do so,” he said, adding, “By asking a simple question, the victims may have second thoughts and can avoid losing millions of baht.”

Since November 15 last year, AMLO has successfully frozen more than Bt34 million before the money was withdrawn from the bank accounts of 74 victims of the scam.

Over the same period, the agency has also returned Bt6.7 million to 40 other victims via the National Police Office, the acting secretary-general said.

The move to suspend CEO Alexander Nix came as recordings emerged in which he boasts his data company played an expansive role in Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, doing all of its research, analytics as well as digital and television campaigns.

In undercover filming captured by Britain’s Channel 4 News, he is also seen boasting about entrapping politicians and secretly operating in elections around the world through shadowy front companies.

Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic have demanded answers after it was revealed at the weekend that Cambridge Analytica improperly harvested information from 50 million Facebook users.

Cambridge Analytica has denied using Facebook data for the Trump campaign, but the scandal has ratcheted up the pressure on the social media giant — already under fire for allowing fake news to proliferate on its platform during the US campaign.

On Tuesday Facebook said its top executives were “working around the clock to get all the facts.”

“The entire company is outraged we were deceived. We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people’s information and will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens,” the firm said.

Cambridge Analytica’s board said meanwhile that Nix would stand aside immediately pending an investigation into the snowballing allegations against him.

“In the view of the Board, Mr. Nix’s recent comments secretly recorded by Channel 4 and other allegations do not represent the values or operations of the firm and his suspension reflects the seriousness with which we view this violation,” the company said.

In Channel 4’s recordings, Nix slights US representatives on the House Intelligence Committee to whom he gave evidence last year, claiming its Democrats are motivated by “sour grapes” and Republicans asked few questions.

“They’re politicians, they’re not technical. They don’t understand how it works,” he was caught on camera telling an undercover reporter.

He also outlines the use of a secret self-destructing email system.

“There’s no evidence, there’s no paper trail, there’s nothing,” he said of the tool, which deletes emails two hours after they have been read.

Investigations multiply

Channel 4 News broadcast an interview filmed in October last year with defeated presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, in which she said she had faced “a massive propaganda effort”.

“There was a new kind of campaign that was being run on the other side,” she said. “It affected the thought processes of voters.”

Facebook now faces investigations on both sides of the Atlantic, sending its share price tumbling another 2.6 percent after a 6.8 percent plunge Monday.

European Union officials have called for an urgent investigation while British lawmakers have asked Zuckerberg to give evidence to a UK parliamentary committee.

Zuckerberg has been asked to appear before the European Parliament.

“Facebook needs to clarify before the representatives of 500 million Europeans that personal data is not being used to manipulate democracy,” tweeted parliament president Antonio Tajani.

US lawmakers have also called on Zuckerberg to appear before Congress, along with the chief executives of Twitter and Google.

Officials in the US states of Massachusetts and New York announced they were sending a “demand letter” to Facebook for the facts of the case.

“Consumers have a right to know how their information is used — and companies like Facebook have a fundamental responsibility to protect their users’ personal information,” New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.

Thirteen US consumer and privacy organizations meanwhile released a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking it to reopen a probe into Facebook, saying the firm’s admission so far “suggests a clear violation” of a 2011 consent decree.

Watchdog searches

A former Cambridge Analytica employee says it was able to create psychological profiles on 50 million Facebook users through the use of a personality prediction app that was downloaded by 270,000 people, but also scooped up data from friends — as was possible under Facebook’s rules at the time.

The end goal was to create software to predict and influence voters’ choices at the ballot box.

The company blames the academic who developed the app, University of Cambridge psychologist Aleksandr Kogan, for misusing the data, which it says was never used on the Trump campaign, and has in any event been deleted.

But the firm’s reputation took a severe hit on Monday, with the broadcast of a first batch of secret footage showing Nix saying it could entrap politicians in compromising situations with bribes and sex workers.

He also said the firm secretly campaigns in elections around the world, including by operating through a web of shadowy front companies, or by using sub-contractors, according to Channel 4 News.

A Cambridge Analytica spokesman told the news programme it does not use “untrue material for any purpose”.

Facebook, which says the data was taken without its knowledge, has launched its own investigation into Cambridge Analytica.

But it was forced to suspend its probe following a request from Britain’s information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, who is making her own inquiries into both companies.

Denham’s office said it had yet to obtain a court warrant to search Cambridge Analytica’s servers, and was now expecting to secure it on Wednesday.

The move is part of the company’s strategy to establish a network infrastructure leasing partnership with the state agency for the long run. This is also part of the company’s preparation with CAT to be ready to deal with the expiration of DTAC’s 1800MHz and 850MHz concessions under CAT in mid-September this year.

Bawa said that the talks with CAT on this network infrastructure lease arrangement were expected to be concluded soon.

After the concession ends, DTAC is obliged by the concession contract to transfer the network asset under the concession to CAT under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

However, the company will need to lease back this network asset from CAT to provide long-term network services after the concession ends.

This will give time to its 1800MHz and 850MHz customers to potentially migrate to other networks without any service disruption.

If there is no auction of DTAC spectra after the concession ends, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) notification on a Measure for Temporary Subscriber Protection in case of Licence, Concession or Mobile Service Agreement Expires (remedial measures) requires the company to continue the mobile services for a so-called remedy period to give time to the customers of the two spectra to migrate to other networks, but such a remedy period will not last more than one year after the concession ended.

DTAC’s senior vice president of the regulatory division, Narupon Rattanasamaharn, said that if need be, the remedy period could be further extended, depending on the NBTC’s decision.

Bawa added that DTAC does not just want to utilise the CAT network asset only during the remedy period but on a longer term basis.

Last week DTAC assured its customers that they would not experience any interruption to network services after the company’s dual-spectrum concession expires.

Its assurance was in reaction to local reports that NBTC member Prawit Leesathapornwongsa had said that no spectrum auctions would be held until late this year.

DTAC said that it was well aware of the situation, and therefore would ensure uninterrupted network services to customers after the end of its concession.

The NBTC was earlier expected to auction DTAC’s 1800MHz and 850MHz spectra in May this year.

However, the agency’s board last month resolved to put the brakes on the auction plan, pending the Council of State’s reply as to whether it had the authority to call for bids as an acting regulator. The Council of State has yet to reply to the regulator.

The six-year term of the existing commissioners ended on October 7 last year, but the new NBTC law allows them to continue in the same capacity until they are replaced. The process of selecting new seven commissioners is expected to be finished in April.

On a separate matter, Bawa is hopeful that DTAC and TOT would soon be able to jointly get the 2.3GHz wireless broadband service off the ground.

DTAC is still waiting for the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to finish examining its partnership contract with TOT to develop the fourth-generation wireless broadband service on the TOT’s 2.3-gigahertz spectrum.

TOT granted the partnership deal to DTAC in May 2017. The finish of the contract examination by the OAG will pave way for both partners to enter into the 2.3GHz partnership contract.

Bawa said that DTAC is committed to long-term investment in Thailand.

“We’re working hard to make sure that we’re ready for the end of the concession. We’re also working hard to make sure we’ll secure the 2.3GHz contract. The important thing is that we want to ensure that our customers will continue to get DTAC services uninterrupted,” he said.

Besides the 1800MHz and 850MHz concessions granted by CAT, DTAC has operated a 2.1GHz mobile service under the NBTC licensing regime.

The two banks yesterday announced a strategic partnership for the service at the Bank of Thailand.

Under the service, which starts in May, Thanachart will settle the bill for Thai vendors who accept QR code payments from Lao visitors using BCEL’s mobile banking application, said Anuwat Luengtawekul, Thanachart ‘s executive vice president.

Ruchukorn Siriyodhin, the central bank’s deputy governor, said some 1 million Thai vendors have registered to use mobile apps for QR code payments,

“This collaboration on the QR code will strengthen the financial linkages between the two countries,” said Ruchukorn, who witnessed the collaboration between the two banks.

Nanthalath Keopaseuth, deputy managing director of BCEL, said QR code payments have been gaining in popularity, with the number of vendors registering for the service rising about 20 per cent a month and transactions have increased 10 per a month.

BCEL’s customers number about one million, out of a national population of six million. About 200,000 of them use the mobile banking application, said Nanthalath.

Currently, about 1,000 vendors have registered to use the bank’s QR code payment system.

Nanthalath said he expected more and more people, especially the young, would be drawn to this convenient payment method, adding that almost everyone in the country has a smartphone on which they download the mobile application.

BCEL has about 90 per cent of the market for mobile banking business in Laos, he said.

Lao visitors using QR code payment in Thailand will be subject to surcharge, which is expected to be lower than the rate of rate 2-3 per cent charged on financial transactions via credit cards, Nanthalath noted.

The combination of lower charges and greater convenience will encourage people to make use of the QR code mobile application, he said.

“Small shop owners usually do not accept credit card payments, but they are willing to accept QR code mobile app payment,” said Nanthalath.

Anuwat said the cross-border QR code payment service would reduce risks from carrying cash and the cost of exchange rate conversions between the two currencies.

He said the bank would expand the QR code payment system by cooperating with peers in other countries, such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. The boom in tourism within the region provides lot of opportunities for growth in cross-border QR code payments, he said.

Last year, the number of people from the CLMV countries – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – visiting Thailand reached 3.7 million and they spent a total of Bt113.7 billion.

Thanachart Bank also plans to work with banks in these four counties in order to provide the same service for Thais visiting their countries.

The company is going all out with the extra-large fun in the grandest Songkran festival celebration of the year, offering promotions worth over Bt15 million.

Its shopping centres will be offering discounts up to 80 per cent, which aims to increase traffic into the retail stores by 10 per cent.

Voralak Tulaphorn, chief marketing officer The Mall Shopping Centre, said on Monday: “The overall picture of the economy in the beginning of this year signals a continuous bright year ahead. The growth of the retail index is at 3.8 to 4 per cent. This is also enhanced by the government policies that support domestic investments and exports.

“Summer is an important season for the retail business, and this year’s potential growth looks promising, especially the customers in the family sector and kids on school holidays, who have developed an outdoor lifestyle that encourages quality time with the whole family. There is also a great opportunity with the increase in tourists who are travelling to Thailand.” “In the marketing strategy for this summer, The Mall Shopping Centre emphasises its retail marketing through the ‘Digital Marketing Platform’ strategy. This is a solution to the needs and lifestyle of 4.0 customers, who are keen on fast and convenient platforms in reaching products and services, at any place, at any time,” she added.

President Vipon Vorasowharid said on Tuesday: “During the past year, our company had continuous growth in many aspects. Our first-year premiums from major types of insurance policies increased by 18 per cent from the previous year. The number of our insurance agents and financial advisers grew stronger than expected, with over 10-per-cent growth.

“We also focused on building and developing the quality of our agents and, as a result, we have more than 100 professional financial advisers with CFP and AFPT certifications. And importantly, our operating performance has been completely stable and secure with the capital adequacy ratio at 252 per cent, which is above the regulatory requirement.”

Regarding the business plan for 2018, Bangkok Life aims to contribute to a better and sustainable standard of living for people under the concept of “Make a Change”. “Accordingly, there will be changes and development of the infrastructure and technology of our business, including operational management, service facilities, product development and distribution channels, as well as strengthened business partnerships, and educating consumers on financial planning,” in order to reinforce its position as the leader in integrated financial planning services, Vipon explained.

Moreover, the insurer has developed an online insurance one-stop service platform for transactions and applications, including “Smart Customer”, an online customer service system that enables customers to easily manage personal data and check their policy coverage and investment information anywhere and at all times.

As to innovation development, the company will embrace new technologies and develop platforms to fully reflect the expectations of digital-era consumers, the president said.

Bringing in new technology is fundamental toward more productivity and efficiency, especially new product development for online sales to expand business opportunities, he added.

Bangkok Life is also developing various services and other online channels such as applications, creating a better experience for both customers and agents.

The initiative will enable the group’s more than 590 million mobile customers to securely and conveniently pay with their mobile wallets when they travel in Asia.

The first commercial launch is expected to be in mid-2018 between Singtel and Advanced Info Service (AIS).

Singtel and AIS have obtained regulatory clearance in both Singapore and Thailand.

The link will enable over 1.5 million visitors travelling between Singapore and Thailand each year to use Singtel Dash and the my AIS application at more than 20,000 retail merchant acceptance points in Singapore and the Kingdom.

Mobile-wallet interconnectivity means that travellers can continue to use their existing home-wallet app to make payments when overseas.

For example, Singtel Dash users travelling to Thailand will need only open the Singtel Dash app to generate a QR code at any participating AIS mPAY merchant to scan.

The Singtel group plans to progressively expand this service from the second half of the year to other regional associates, which include Airtel, Globe and Telkomsel, taking into consideration the respective countries’ regulations.